Girls
by Zolo77
Summary: "Girls" is a collection of short stories, anecdotes and snippets; centred around Leia and the women in her life. It is frequently pointed out that Leia is in desperate need in girlfriends and I couldn't agree more - which is how this started. I hope you enjoy. Cheers.
1. Meeting Space

_Disclaimer: Disney's playground, I just hang out here._

_Story Note: "Girls" is another collection of short stories, anecdotes and snippets, this time, centred around Leia and the women in her life. It is frequently pointed out that Leia is in desperate need in girlfriends. This collection was kicked off by the awesome positive feedback from my "Leia and the girls" chapter in my Into The Future story. I hope you enjoy! R&R (oh, and if you have any suggestions for this, PM me!)  
_

* * *

A lighthearted cheer went up from around the small cocktail table as she stepped into the lounge. Dropping her coat onto the arm of a passing valet droid and rounding the table to greet her friends, Leia marveled at how much she had begun to look forward to these nights out. The women were settled into a high-topped round table against the far south wall of the lounge, the glittering skyline of Coruscant blinking behind them and the two usual starting bottles of white-wine-on-ice sat gleaming up from the table's sunken centre. They were waiting for her.

The 'Monthly Debrief', which the five of them had humourously started to call it, was a social tradition she found herself increasingly enjoying. It had become a welcome distraction from the ongoing drama in their lives. Work topics were strictly banned - instead the small group tended to stick to gossip, family issues and random stories.

"I know! I know! I'm so sorry I'm late. I didn't think I'd ever get away!" Leia smiled, brushing a strand of hair away from her right eye.

"We almost gave up on you!" Mirax exclaimed, accepting a light hug from Leia as she passed.

"Did Luke get back okay?" Winter asked, lifting one of the bottles and pouring Leia a healthy glass.

"He did," Leia sighed, dropping her clutch on the table and leaning back in the chair, "he's over at ours, I escaped before the kids got too worked up. Is Tionne coming tonight?"

"She's on her way, I guess there was some sort of mix up with the air-taxi."

"I could've picked her up. Oh, thanks, Winter." Leia took the offered glass from her friend. "So?"

"I have to say, Leia, you sound even more tired as I feel, if that's possible," Iella laughed. "You still look calm and collected, but you can't fool us. Then again, you always look annoyingly in control. I don't know how you do it."

"Wine helps." Leia responded, clinking her glass with Iella.

"Speaking of wine..." Mirax lowered her voice and leaned forward.

_Yes_, Leia thought as she listened and laughed along with Mirax's story, this was _exactly_ what she needed.


	2. Photo Credit

_Disclaimer - Disney's playground. I just hang out here. _  
_Disclaimer #2 - I'm getting thoroughly sick of writing disclaimers. _

_AN: Thanks to Fettkat for proofing this and no, I'm not turning Star Wars into Sex and the City - who would be Samantha anyway!? _

* * *

It had been a comparatively quiet day at the office until shouting erupted from the reception area outside her door.

The shouting escalated quickly giving Leia only enough time to grab her lightsaber and small holdout blaster - which Han more than insisted she keep with her - and stand before the door slid open and a blur of black and fire red strode through; marching angrily towards her.

"Mara?"

"Look at this!" Mara threw a crisp magazine down onto the desk, glaring at Leia in outrage. "Just look!"

Leia sank down into her chair again, setting the blaster and lightsaber back into the top drawer, and picked the offending article up to study it. She wasn't expecting anything too exciting, this was Mara, after all. And, as Han always happily pointed out, Mara was far too easy to rile up. He usually followed up that comment by shooting her a sideways wink and adding 'even easier then you' at the end, just to annoy her.

"Do you want a tea?" Leia offered, still trying to find something wrong with the cover of the magazine. There were the usual pictures of holo-drama stars on holiday, political figures- not her this time, small miracle - from various systems doing various mundane things. The only interesting thing was the image taking up most of the top left corner. It appeared to be a woman's leather clad rear-end with the words "HOT DAMN!" scrolled across the bottom with deep red lettering. Leather clad. Leia chanced a quick glace at her friend and almost-sister-in-law, who sat in stoned silence, playing with the safety on her blaster; looking the picture of anger and instability.

"Is this...?"

"Yes."

"Well-"

"Oh! You think that's bad! Flip in a few pages, it gets worse." Leia did as she was instructed. Arguing with the volatile red-head across from her seemed not only impossible but downright hazardous at the moment. Inside, there was a two page photo collection. All of Mara. Or rather, all of Mara's rear.

"It's not _that_ bad, really." Leia laughed, tossing the magazine back on the desk.

"I want to kill them." Mara hissed.

"I guessed that, but you could also be a bit flattered."

"If it wasn't so insulting I might be."

"I'm sorry, I'm all for women's rights and all that, but I don't see exactly why you're so insulted." Leia laughed again.

Mara crossed her arms in front of her and and leaned back in her chair. "Has there ever been a picture of your ass in here?"

"Oh yes, of course there has. But, not recently. And _never_ wrapped in leather." This elected a small smile from her friend. "I've been rather lucky with my media-coverage I suppose. For the most part it's been decent. Although I hate to think of what they would have written about if they had seen me in that dress I wore out with Han last year on Arbra."

"You guys and your Rim anonymity," Mara sighed. "You know the worst part of all this?"

"Lando?"

"Lando."


	3. Spoken Fears

_Disclaimer - Disney's playground. I just hang out here. _

* * *

"We're getting a little frustrated. I _am_ trying to keep positive, but..."

"For some couples it can take longer."

"I know. It's just... I want a baby, Leia."

"Have you spoken to anyone about this? There are tests you can take, have you looked into anything like that?" Leia asked quietly, watching her friend of over twenty years as she sat stoically in front of her; fingers nervously running across with the buttons on her commlink.

"Tycho thinks we should. I'm not sure. I don't want it to be a my fault." Winter replied finally, setting the comm back down on the table and meeting Leia's eyes for the first time since the topic was raised.

"How could that be your fault? It wouldn't be anyone's fault." Leia implored.

"Still..." Winter whispered, eyes cast back to the table.

Leia remained silent. There was very little she could think to say. It wasn't fair, Leia thought sadly as she sat watching her best friend. She had watched both Winter and Tycho with her children over the past four years. She had watched the way Winter had held Jacen right after he was born, laughed when Tycho held up Anakin over his head so he could touch the ceiling in a "who's taller contest" last year when Han was out on assignment and the children were desperately missing him. They had always been there for her, and now, it was her turn - she just didn't know how.


	4. Raised Question

_Disclaimer - Disney's playground. I just hang out here. _

* * *

"I'm telling you. Honestly, I love them more than life, but four _might_ officially put me over the edge. So, no to that question."

"Oh yeah, you say that now. But Anakin is what, two? It'd be perfect timing..."

"Don't _even_ say it. Han just has to breath on me the right way and I get pregnant."

Mirax hooted with laughter. Iella's eyes widened and a look of scandalized amusement swept quickly over her face.

Leia shook her head slowly back and forth, her mouth forming a tiny "O" and fervently wishing she could take back that last comment.

"Oh really?" Mirax asked, leaning forward as she tried - and failed - to compose herself. "Which _way_ exactly?"


	5. Lonely

_Disclaimer - Disney's playground. I just hang out here. _

_AN: Set during the X-Wing series; Solo Command_

* * *

"But I can't ask that of him," Leia replied softly after a while while, her gazed locked sadly on the _Falcon; _unmoved for weeks, alone and steady. Waiting. Just like she was.

Winter offered her friend a sad smile before turning her attention to the lonely ship.

"After all. He does this for me."


	6. Swapping Stories

_Disclaimer - Disney's playground. I just hang out here. _

* * *

"I just don't get it," Mirax exclaimed again, looking around at her friends.

"Neither do I," Leia sighed, shaking her head softly, loose curls falling around her face. "I have it on Han's authority - which seems to be pretty good in matters like this - that men, as a general group, have a natural predisposition towards stupidity."

"He would be a good person to ask," Winter giggled and Leia swirled the caf around in her mug again, nodding knowingly.

"Honestly though! How! How is this possible? How can someone be that dumb?"

"Well," Iella quietly spoke for the first time since Mirax started ranting. "At least he didn't take private photos of you to keep in his fighter while he's away, then forget and leave them in there while his craft went in for repairs so the mechanics could find them." Silence radiated around the table, Iella looked around. "I know, right. Stupid."

"Okay, you win." Mirax looked, horrified. "Coran's never done anything like that. Yet."

"Yet?" Leia raised an eyebrow.

"It's Coran. You have to leave room for future error," she smirked and gestured flippantly.

"True," Leia smiled and laughed once. "The worst thing Han's done, so far, is he wrote erotic snippets from our private life into his submitted reports."

"Really! When?"

"About six months ago. I was not amused."

"No," Winter bit back a giggle, reaching for the fruit platter. "I don't imagine you were."

"This sounds like something I need to know about; spill Princess." Mirax pointed her spoon at Leia, and with a sigh, Leia started into her story.


	7. Reminiscent

_Disclaimer - Disney's playground. I just hang out here. _

_AN: A thank you (again) to my "Mara-muse", Fettkat! _

* * *

"Can you please sit down? You're making me nervous."

Mara spun around to face her sister-in-law, letting her right hand fall back to her side, releasing a cloud of red hair to spill around her shoulders.

"Where are they? Shouldn't they be back already?"

"Mara. Sit."

Surprisingly, she sank into the chair beside her, gaze fixed out on the shimmering city lights, spread out like millions of dancing lightening wasps. Leia watched her carefully.

"They likely wont be back for hours." Mara tapped her fingers on her knee. Leia smiled, who would have thought? Mara Jade, Emperor's Hand, assassin, smuggler, ace pilot, Jedi and kick-ass combat fighter, was fidgeting.

"It's a 'Squad birthday. Last time Han only made it in the front door to our building. I found him the next morning. Well, him and Wedge. It was very... reminiscent." Leia finished, smiling wide at the memory. Sure she had been hopping mad at the time, but looking back now, it was rather funny.

"Reminiscent?" Mara stilled her fingers and narrowed sharp green eyes at her companion.

"Oh yes," Leia rose and wandered into the kitchen, pouring both her and Mara a large cup of herbal tea. "Reminded me of the time I found him asleep in front of our first apartment. It was right after we were married, Gavin's party, I think. Anyway, he couldn't get the security code to work. I was mad then too. But..." she trailed off, kettle in hand poised over the mugs, mind wandering.

"But?" startled, Leia jumped slightly as Mara's voice sounded from directly behind her.

"He made it up to me," she smirked in response to Mara's faint rising blush.


	8. Early home

_Disclaimer: Not mine. Blah blah blah _

_AN: For Fett :)_

* * *

"Are you sure? I don't want to wake the kids up, and Han's probably still working. I can always come grab it tomorrow. I don't want to intrude."

"Of course I'm sure, it makes no sense for you to come all the way back here before the gala when you can pick it up now. And don't worry about the children; they're like Han - could sleep through a Imperialist Celebration Band marching through the house." Leia laughed quietly, keying in the code for the lift up to her apartment while Mirax leaned casually against the glass wall behind her.

"Thanks, I really appreciate it. I feel like all I do these days is buy clothes that I grow out of," Mirax sighed. "It's frustrating."

Leia turned and smiled at her friend as they exited the lift. "I know how you feel, and you don't need to thank me."

The door to the apartment slid open in a rush revealing a red-faced, shirking Anakin being flown around over Han's head while the twins chased them around the living area shooting at their young brother with the soft foam dart guns Lando had dropped off for them the week before.

Leia and Mirax both stood frozen and unnoticed in the doorway. Shaking her head slightly, tendrils of hair moving across her face, Leia stood watching her husband and children, lost in their own world when she catch the eye of her friend standing next to her.

Mirax smirked, "So, the dress?"


End file.
